Ready. Set. Hike! (Milford Track, Day 1)

March 3

The first day of our hiking trip didn’t involve much hiking at all. We arrived at the Ultimate Hikes Centre in the morning and boarded the bus with 46 other hikers and four guides. We drove a few hours to Te Anau, stopped for lunch and carried on to Te Anau Downs, where an hour on the boat finally landed us at the start of the track.

We stepped into a disinfectant bucket and dipped in our hiking sticks to kill all the bacteria on our hiking gear. This is a big deal in NZ as they use these stations to help protect the wildlife and forests from disease. After snapping a few pics at the trailhead signs, we walked a whole mile to our first lodge, Glade House.

Disinfectant helps stop the spread of disease

We were given the option of doing a short nature walk around the property and everyone joined in. It was good to stretch our legs after the long bus and boat rides.

Nature walk after arriving at Glade House

The Ultimate Hikes chef and kitchen team cooked up an excellent three course dinner, as was the case every evening of our stay. Choices included venison, fish, ribeye, lamb or a vegetarian option. Fine dining seemingly in the middle of nowhere thanks to helicopter deliveries every Wednesday. Amazing.

The guides gave us a post dinner briefing, informing us of the following day’s agenda, route and weather. There was one minor issue we suddenly encountered during this first briefing that quickly became a major one for us.

The forecast wasn’t looking favorable. Heavy rain was expected throughout the night, possibly flooding one section of the track, rendering it unsafe to pass on foot.

Alex, the lead guide, said in this rare instance, we may need to be airlifted by helicopter over the flooded area, and then we could continue on with the hike.

I’m sorry, what?

The jokes were flying (argh!) and they were funny. Can I request a window or aisle seat? When will the air miles appear in my account?Will duty-free shopping be available before or after our flight?

Many people were excited about the prospect of potentially getting to ride in a helicopter. I was not one of them.

We all thought Alex was joking until he pulled out the scale and the helicopter passenger manifest and started recording all the details. And then we were weighed.

More jokes ensued. Will this be published or publicly announced?Can you add the weight of my backpack to my overall weight?Why weren’t we weighed before dinner?

Mitch and I were in a multi-share room with just one other person. An adventurous, skydiving, bungee jumping South Korean young woman named Eunhye Kim. Mitch was thrilled to have someone to reminisce about Seoul with since he lived there back in the 90’s. We chatted for a bit, said our goodnights, the generator was turned off at 10 p.m. sharp and we turned in for the night, not knowing our fate for the next day.

When I climbed down from the top bunk at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom, I had to walk outside as it was down the hall. It was raining. A lot. Puddles of water were forming across the grass. Reality was starting to set in. Our friend Jim, who is a captain for Southwest, said the only way he would ever fly in a helicopter is if he were being medically transported against his will. In other words, unconscious.